It provided service in the eastern part of the colony south of Stanleyville (Kisangani) to serve the settlers and mining operations in Katanga.

At the start of the 20th century King Leopold II of Belgium asked Baron Édouard Empain to undertake a railway project in the east of the Congo Free State.

Empain founded the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Congo Supérieur aux Grands Lacs Africains (CFL) in 1902 with capital of 25 million francs.

The track mainly ran through dense tropical forest, and clearing stumps was a major effort.

[1] The section from Kabalo to AIbertville (Kalemie) ran along the rocky Lukuga River valley, and was started in April 1911.

The CFL subsidiary Compagnie Minière des Grands-Lacs (MGL) was created in 1923 to exploit the mining rights.

The CFL was impressed by Olsen's achievements and made him their general manager in Africa, in charge of transport on the Lualaba River.

[5] The Empain Group was greatly involved in the Comité National du Kivu, which included the CFL, the colonial government and others.

[8] In 1912 the company decided it needed at least fifteen 0-6-0 locomotives that could reach a speed of 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph) towing a load of 100 tonnes.

In 1924 the company ordered six more locomotives similar to the Moguls but with improved boilers and larger diameter drive wheels.